# 2000 Cleveland Browns season

The 2000 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 48th season with the National Football League and 52nd overall. It was the second season of the "New Browns", which returned to the NFL in 1999.
Kicker Phil Dawson was the Browns’ leading scorer with 59 points. The Browns total offense ranked 31st (last) in the league, while their total defense ranked 26th in the league. The 2000 Browns’ 161 points scored (10.06 per game) is the third-fewest ever by a team in a 16-game schedule, tied with the 1998 Eagles and behind the 1992 Seahawks and 1991 Colts. Additionally, their four games without scoring is the most in the NFL since the 1977 Buccaneers failed to score six times; by contrast the 2016 and 2017 Browns went a combined 1–31 but never failed to score a point in any game. The 1999 Browns scored 217 points, or 3.50 more per game than in 2000.

## Offseason

| Additions | Subtractions |
| QB Doug Pederson (Eagles) | RB Terry Kirby (Raiders) |
| DT Orpheus Roye (Steelers) | DE John Thierry (Packers) |
| RB Errict Rhett (Ravens) | T Scott Rehberg (Bengals) |
| DE Keith McKenzie (Packers) | G Orlando Bobo (Ravens) |
| G Everett Lindsay (Ravens) | CB Ryan McNeil (Cowboys) |
| T Roman Oben (Giants) | S Marquez Pope (Raiders) |
| S Percy Ellsworth (Giants) | T Lomas Brown (Giants) |
| LB Marty Moore (Patriots) | |

### 2000 NFL draft

2000 Cleveland Browns draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 1 | Courtney Brown | Defensive end | Penn State |
| 2 | 32 | Dennis Northcutt | Wide receiver | Arizona |
| 3 | 63 | Travis Prentice | Running back | Miami (OH) |
| 3 | 79 | JaJuan Dawson | Wide receiver | Tulane |
| 4 | 95 | Lewis Sanders | Cornerback | Maryland |
| 4 | 110 | Aaron Shea | Tight end/Fullback | Michigan |
| 5 | 130 | Anthony Malbrough | Cornerback | Texas Tech |
| 5 | 146 | Lamar Chapman | Cornerback | Kansas State |
| 6 | 183 | Spergon Wynn | Quarterback | Southwest Texas State |
| 6 | 206 | Brad Bedell | Guard | Colorado |
| 7 | 207 | Manuia Savea | Tackle | Arizona |
| 7 | 209 | Eric Chandler | Defensive end | Jackson State |
| 7 | 225 | Rashidi Barnes | Safety | Colorado |
| Made roster ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

2000 undrafted free agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Kyle Allamon | Tight end | Texas Tech |
| Jeff Dyra | Tackle | Northwestern |
| Dwaune Jones | Wide receiver | Richmond |
| Jeff Kerr | Linebacker | East Carolina |
| Noel LaMontagne | Guard | Virginia |
| Shaun O'Hara | Center | Rutgers |
| Nate Terry | Defensive back | West Virginia |
| Kevin Thompson | Quarterback | Penn State |

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue |
| 1 | July 30 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 33–22 | 1–0 | Cleveland Browns Stadium |
| 2 | August 12 | at Chicago Bears | L 6–19 | 1–1 | Soldier Field |
| 3 | August 19 | Washington Redskins | L 0–24 | 1–2 | Cleveland Browns Stadium |
| 4 | August 26 | at Green Bay Packers | L 33–34 | 1–3 | Lambeau Field |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 3 | Jacksonville Jaguars | L 7–27 | 0–1 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 72,418 | Recap |
| 2 | September 10 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 24–7 | 1–1 | Paul Brown Stadium | 64,006 | Recap |
| 3 | September 17 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 23–20 | 2–1 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,018 | Recap |
| 4 | September 24 | at Oakland Raiders | L 10–36 | 2–2 | Network Associates Coliseum | 45,702 | Recap |
| 5 | October 1 | Baltimore Ravens | L 0–12 | 2–3 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,018 | Recap |
| 6 | October 8 | at Arizona Cardinals | L 21–29 | 2–4 | Sun Devil Stadium | 39,148 | Recap |
| 7 | October 15 | at Denver Broncos | L 10–44 | 2–5 | Mile High Stadium | 75,811 | Recap |
| 8 | October 22 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 0–22 | 2–6 | Three Rivers Stadium | 57,659 | Recap |
| 9 | October 29 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 3–12 | 2–7 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,118 | Recap |
| 10 | November 5 | New York Giants | L 3–24 | 2–8 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 72,718 | Recap |
| 11 | November 12 | New England Patriots | W 19–11 | 3–8 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 72,618 | Recap |
| 12 | November 19 | at Tennessee Titans | L 10–24 | 3–9 | Adelphia Coliseum | 68,498 | Recap |
| 13 | November 26 | at Baltimore Ravens | L 7–44 | 3–10 | PSINet Stadium | 68,361 | Recap |
| 14 | December 3 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | L 0–48 | 3–11 | Alltel Stadium | 51,262 | Recap |
| 15 | December 10 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 24–35 | 3–12 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 72,318 | Recap |
| 16 | December 17 | Tennessee Titans | L 0–24 | 3–13 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 72,318 | Recap |
| 17 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(1)}$ Tennessee Titans | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 346 | 191 | W4 |
| $^{(4)}$ Baltimore Ravens | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 333 | 165 | W7 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 321 | 255 | W2 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 367 | 327 | L2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 185 | 359 | L1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 161 | 419 | L5 |

## Game summaries
### Week 6: at Arizona Cardinals

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Browns | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Cardinals | 0 | 16 | 10 | 3 | 29 |
at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
* Date: October 8
* Game time: 4:15 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: 87 °F (30.6 °C), relative humidity 25%, wind 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn)
* Game attendance: 44,296
* Referee: Tom White
* TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui (play–by–play) and Steve Tasker (color commentator)
* Box score
Game information :
First quarter
CLE – Travis Prentice 1-yard run (Phil Dawson kick), 1:51. Browns 7–0. Drive: 11 plays, 59 yards, 6:34.
Second quarter
CLE – Travis Prentice 1-yard run (Phil Dawson kick), 14:26. Browns 14–0. Drive: 5 plays, 24 yards, 2:14.
ARI – Thomas Jones 10-yard run (Cary Blanchard kick), 12:00. Browns 14–7. Drive: 5 plays, 42 yards, 2:26.
ARI – Frank Sanders 53-yard pass from Jake Plummer (kick failed), 9:08. Browns 14–13. Drive: 2 plays, 57 yards, 0:51.
ARI – Cary Blanchard 36-yard field goal, 1:13. Cardinals 16–14. Drive: 13 plays, 54 yards, 6:18.
Third quarter
ARI – Cary Blanchard 47-yard field goal, 8:55. Cardinals 19–14. Drive: 9 plays, 58 yards, 3:27.
ARI – Frank Sanders 5-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Cary Blanchard kick), 1:55. Cardinals 26–14. Drive: 9 plays, 70 yards, 4:59.
Fourth quarter
CLE – Travis Prentice 6-yard run (Phil Dawson kick), 12:43. Cardinals 26–21. Drive: 3 plays, 24 yards, 1:29.
ARI – Cary Blanchard 28-yard field goal, 3:00. Cardinals 29–21. Drive: 11 plays, 72 yards, 5:59.
Top passers
CLE – Tim Couch – 16/22, 138 yards
ARI – Jake Plummer – 17/30, 171 yards, 2 TD
Top rushers
CLE – Travis Prentice – 28 rushes, 97 yards, 3 TD
ARI – Michael Pittman – 16 rushes, 107 yards
Top receivers
CLE – Dennis Northcutt – 3 receptions, 67 yards
ARI – David Boston – 5 receptions, 63 yards :

## Best performances

* Tim Couch, Week 3, 316 Passing Yards vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
* Doug Pederson, Week 15, 309 Passing Yards vs. Philadelphia Eagles

## Awards and records

* Led NFL, yards punted, 4,919 yards